President Clinton's Heart Healthy Diet

Editor’s note: Attracted by a most interesting report by Dr . Sanjay Gupta on CNN, I have done some research and believe it is important to share the findings by outstanding professionals . But I still think my Trout Lake Diet is the easiest and remarkably effective!

If President Clinton can do it, we all can avoid heart attacks!

---From CNN online

By the time he reached the White House, Bill Clinton’s appetite was legend . He loved hamburgers, steaks, chicken enchiladas, barbecue and french fries but wasn’t too picky . At one campaign stop in New Hampshire, he reportedly bought a dozen doughnuts and was working his way through the box until an aide stopped him .

Former President Clinton now considers himself a vegan . He’s dropped more than 20 pounds, and he says he’s healthier than ever . His dramatic dietary transformation took almost two decades and came about only after a pair of heart procedures and some advice from a trusted doctor .

His dietary saga began in 1993, when first lady Hillary Clinton decided to inaugurate a new, healthier diet for her husband . In a meeting, she asked Dr . Dean Ornish to work with the White House chefs, who were accustomed to high fat, French cuisine . “The president did like unhealthy foods, and we were able to put soy burgers in White House, for example, and get foods that were delicious and nutritious,” said Ornish, director and president of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California . Other new menu items included such healthy fare as stir fry vegetables with tofu, and salmon with vegetables . Even with the revamped White House menu, Clinton battled his weight throughout his two terms as president . At his annual physical in 1999, the White House physician noted the president had put on 18 pounds since a checkup two years earlier . The prescription: refocus on exercise and a low-calorie diet . Clinton didn’t know it, but weight was not his biggest health concern . The 42nd president has a family history of heart disease, and plaque was building up in the coronary arteries leading to his heart, undetected by White House doctors .

In 2004, less than four years after leaving office, the 58-year-old Clinton felt what he described as a tightness in his chest as he returned home from New Orleans, where he was promoting his memoir, “My Life .” Days later, he underwent quadruple bypass surgery to restore blood flow to his heart . “I was lucky I did not die of a heart attack,” Clinton told CNN’s Dr . Sanjay Gupta . After the surgery, the former president cut down on his calories and lowered the cholesterol in his diet, but his heart troubles were not over .

Last year, the former president went to Haiti to support the relief efforts but he felt weak . When he returned home, he learned he needed another heart procedure: two stents to open one of the veins from his bypass surgery, which had become, in Clinton’s words, “pretty bent and ugly .” Ornish recalls meeting with Clinton a few days after his angioplasty . “I shared with him that because of his genetics, moderate changes in diet and lifestyle weren’t enough to keep his disease from progressing . However, our research showed that more intensive changes change actually reverse progression of heart disease in most people .” “I told him, ‘The friends that mean the most to me are the ones that tell me what I need to hear, not necessarily what I want to hear . And you need to know your genes are not your fate . And I say this not to blame you but to empower you . And I’m happy to work with you to whatever extent you want,’” Ornish recalled . They met a few days later, he said .

Clinton then decided to make profound changes in the way he eats . “I essentially concluded that I had played Russian roulette,” Clinton said, “because even though I had changed my diet some and cut down on the caloric total of my ingestion and cut back on much of the cholesterol in the food I was eating, I still -- without any scientific basis to support what I did -- was taking in a lot of extra cholesterol without knowing if my body would produce enough of the enzyme to support it, and clearly it didn’t or I wouldn’t have had that blockage . So that’s when I made a decision to really change .” The former president now says he consumes no meat, no dairy, no eggs, almost no oil .

“I like the vegetables, the fruits, the beans, the stuff I eat now,” Clinton told Gupta . The former president’s goal is to avoid any food that could damage his blood vessels . His dietary guides are Ornish and Dr . Caldwell Esselstyn Jr ., who directs the cardiovascular prevention and reversal program at The Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute . Both doctors have concluded that a plant-based diet can prevent and, in some cases, actually reverse heart disease .

“All my blood tests are good, and my vital signs are good, and I feel good, and I also have, believe it or not, more energy,” Clinton said . His latest goal: getting his weight down to 185, what he weighed when he was 13 years old .

Clinton is trying to spread his newfound zeal for healthy eating to children . The Clinton Foundation has teamed up with the American Heart Association and is helping 12,000 schools promote exercise and offer better lunches so decades from now, today’s children will not face the same heart troubles he has . “It’s turning a ship around before it hits the iceberg, but I think we’re beginning to turn it around,” Clinton said .

A groundbreaking program backed by the irrefutable results from the 20-year study by Caldwell B . Esselstyn, Jr ., M .D . proving changes in diet and nutrition can actually cure heart disease . Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States for men and women . But, as Dr . Esselstyn, an internationally known former surgeon, researcher and clinician at the Cleveland Clinic, explains in this book it can be prevented, reversed, and even abolished . Dr . Esselstyn argues that conventional cardiology has failed patients by developing treatments that focus only on the symptoms of heart disease, not the cause . Based on the groundbreaking results of his 20-year nutritional study – the longest study of its kind ever conducted – this book explains, with irrefutable scientific evidence, how we can end the heart disease epidemic in this country forever by changing what we eat . Here, Dr . Esselstyn convincingly argues that a plant-based, oil-free diet can not only prevent and stop the progression of heart disease, but also reverse its effects .

The proof is in the results . The patients in Dr . Esselstyn’s initial study came to him with advanced coronary artery disease . Despite the aggressive treatment they received, among them bypasses and angioplasties, 5 of the original group were told by their cardiologists they had less than a year to live . Within months on Dr . Esselstyn’s program, their cholesterol levels, angina symptoms, and blood flow improved dramatically . Twelve years later 17 compliant patients had no further cardiac events . Adherent patients survived beyond twenty years free of symptoms .

Drop in cholesterol levels: After 5 years on Dr . Esselstyn’s plant-based diet, the average total cholesterol levels of his research group dropped from 246 milligrams per deciliter to 137 mg/dL (Above 240 mg/dL is considered “high risk,” below 150 mg/dL is the total cholesterol level seen in cultures where heart disease is essentially nonexistent .) This is the most profound drop in cholesterol ever documented in the medical literature in a study of this type .

Cardiac events: The 17 patients in the study had 49 cardiac events in the years leading up to the study, and had undergone aggressive treatment procedures . Several had multiple bypass operations . After beginning the eating plan, there were no more cardiac events in the group within a 12-year period .

Angiogram evidence: Angiograms taken of the participants in the study show a widening of the coronary arteries, and thus a reversal of the disease .

When you make healthy choices, you feel better quickly . When you feel better, you enjoy making healthy choices .

People often think that advances in medicine have to be a new drug, a new laser, or a surgical intervention to be powerful – something really high-tech and expensive . They often have a hard time believing that the simple choices that we make in our lives each day – what we eat, how we respond to stress, whether or not we smoke, how much we exercise and the quality of our relationships – can make such a powerful difference in our health, our well-being, and our survival, but they often do .

Awareness is the first step in healing . When we become more aware of how powerfully our choices in diet and lifestyle affect us – for better and for worse – then we can make different ones . It’s like connecting the dots between what we do and how we feel .

Part of the value of science is to raise our awareness by helping us to understand the powerful effects of the diet and lifestyle choices we make each day – and how changing these may significantly, sometimes dramatically, improve our health and well being . In many cases, these improvements may occur much more quickly than people had once believed possible .

In our studies, we used the latest in high-tech, expensive, state-of-the-art measures to prove how robust these very simple, low-tech, and low-cost interventions can be .

For more than 30 years, Dr . Dean Ornish has directed a series of scientific research studies showing, for the first time, that the progression of even severe coronary heart disease can often be reversed by making comprehensive lifestyle changes . These include a very low-fat diet including predominantly fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and soy products in their natural, unrefined forms; moderate exercise such as walking; various stress management techniques including yoga-based stretching, breathing, meditation, and imagery; and enhanced love and social support, which may include support groups .

Q: Dr . Dean Ornish has published several books about his very low-fat diet . Are there any problems with that diet?

A: Dr . Dean Ornish promotes a diet that limits fat to 10% of total calories, which is approximately 15-25 grams of fat per day . To achieve this low level of fat, many foods must be avoided . These include meat, fish, oils and fats, avocados, olives, nuts, cheese, whole or low-fat milk, egg yolks, and any other product that has more than 2 grams of fat per serving . Non-fat dairy products are allowed in moderation . The diet primarily includes legumes, vegetables, fruit, and whole grains .

The goal of the Ornish diet is to prevent or treat heart disease . According to Dr . Ornish, severe heart disease can often be reversed by following his plan . In addition to a low-fat, whole-foods diet, Dr . Ornish also promotes moderate exercise, stress management techniques, and social support . All of these lifestyle changes can protect against heart disease, high blood pressure, and other diseases . In addition, the diet tends to be lower in calories compared to how most people usually eat, so weight loss may occur .

The diet has many beneficial aspects, but there are also several disadvantages . Fat has many important roles in our diets . Although 10% of calories from fat may be adequate to prevent essential fatty acid deficiency and aid in the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, a very-low-fat diet is difficult for most people to follow . Fat provides a pleasant taste to food . It also gives us a feeling of satiety, meaning it helps us feel satisfied, curbs our appetite, and guards against overeating . People who follow a very-low-fat diet often feel hungry and unsatisfied .

The Ornish diet can be low in other nutrients including protein, vitamin B12, and iron . Proper meal planning is essential and vitamin supplementation may be necessary to prevent deficiencies . Dr . Ornish advises taking a multivitamin with vitamin B12 and either fish oil or flaxseed oil capsules for a source of omega-3 fatty acids . Although supplements may be helpful, it is best to rely on foods for nutrients whenever possible .

It is also important to keep in mind that not all fats are created equal . Research has shown that saturated fat may be one of the primary contributors to heart disease . Sources of saturated fat include animal products such as butter, beef, cheese, and also snack foods . However, monounsaturated fat (found in olive and canola oils, nuts, olives, and avocados) may actually have a protective effect .

Keep in mind that although some fats may be healthier than others, they all still are high in calories . Using olive oil instead of butter may keep your heart happy, but it probably won’t help with weight loss .

Although the Ornish diet may be a bit extreme for the average person, many of the concepts can be incorporated into a diet of moderation to help prevent disease and promote health .

For more than 40 years, Dr . T . Colin Campbell has been at the forefront of nutrition research . His legacy, the China Project, is the most comprehensive study of health and nutrition ever conducted . Dr . Campbell is the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University . He has more than 70 grant-years of peer-reviewed research funding and authored more than 300 research papers and coauthor of the bestselling the book, The China Study: Startling Impli cations for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-term Health.

Respected nutrition and health researcher, Dr . T . Colin Campbell reveals the truth behind special interest groups, government entities and scientists that have taken Americans down a deadly path.

Even today, as the low-carb craze sweeps the nation, two-thirds of adults are still obese and children are being diagnosed with Type II diabetes, typically an “adult” disease, at an alarming rate . If we’re eating healthier, why are Americans stricken with heart disease as much as we were 30 years ago? Drawing on the project findings in rural China, but going far beyond those findings, The China Study details the connection between nutrition and heart disease, diabetes and cancer . The report also examines the source of nutritional confusion produced by powerful lobbies, government entities, and opportunistic scientists . The New York Times has recognized the study (China-Oxford-Cornell Diet and Health Project) as the “Grand Prix of epidemiology” and the “most comprehensive large study ever undertaken of the relationship between diet and the risk of developing disease .” “After a long career in research and policy-making, I have decided to step ‘out of the system’ . I have decided to disclose why Americans are so confused,” said Dr . Campbell . “As a taxpayer who foots the bill for research and health policy in America, you deserve to know that many of the common notions you have been told about food, health and disease are wrong . I propose to do nothing less than redefine what we think of as good nutrition . You need to know the truth about food, and why eating the right way can save your life .”

Early in his career as a researcher with MIT and Virginia Tech, Dr . Campbell worked to promote better health by eating more meat, milk and eggs -- “high-quality animal protein . . . It was an obvious sequel to my own life on the farm and I was happy to believe that the American diet was the best in the world .” He later was a researcher on a project in the Philippines working with malnourished children . The project became an investigation for Dr . Campbell, as to why so many Filipino children were being diagnosed with liver cancer, predominately an adult disease . The primary goal of the project was to ensure that the children were getting as much protein as possible . “In this project, however, I uncovered a dark secret . Children who ate the highest protein diets were the ones most likely to get liver cancer . . .” He began to review other reports from around the world that reflected the findings of his research in the Philippines .

Although it was “heretical to say that protein wasn’t healthy,” he started an in-depth study into the role of nutrition, especially protein, in the cause of cancer . The research project culminated in a 20-year partnership of Cornell University, Oxford University, and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine, a survey of diseases and lifestyle factors in rural China and Taiwan . More commonly known as the China Study, “this project eventually produced more than 8000 statistically significant associations between various dietary factors and disease .” The findings? “People who ate the most animal-based foods got the most chronic disease . . . People who ate the most plant-based foods were the healthiest and tended to avoid chronic disease . These results could not be ignored,” said Dr . Campbell .

In The China Study, Dr . Campbell details the connection between nutrition and heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, and also its ability to reduce or reverse the risk or effects of these deadly illnesses . The China Study also examines the source of nutritional confusion produced by powerful lobbies, government entities, and irresponsible scientists . The China Study is not a diet book . Consumers are bombarded with conflicting messages regarding health and nutrition; the market is flooded with popular titles like The Atkins Diet and The South Beach Diet . The China Study cuts through the haze of misinformation and delivers an insightful message to anyone living with cancer, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and those concerned with the effects of aging . Additionally, he challenges the validity of these low-carb fad diets and issues a startling warning to their followers .

Instead of going to Florida to find the South Beach Diet, try coming to the most beautiful place in the world, near the Lake of the Woods, Ontario – even storms can be awesome and try

Ivan’s “TROUT LAKE” Diet*

One page is all you get = a simple approach for people on the go.

My friend/doctor Jack Rusen has introduced me to an addition: 2 glasses of ice water before every meal.

Exercise is strongly recommended . At least, walk 30 minutes every day . Weight workouts are good . Not necessary to train for and complete 22 full (26 .2 miles) Marathons as I have done, but it helps! and, NEVER, NEVER eat even a mouthful after 8:00 PM

*Based on personal experience over 50 years, losing probably a TON of weight but still fighting to lose the fat that creeps back, probably due to metabolism that attracts fat … and an innate LOVE of food!